What do you guys think of this kid Thanasi from Australia ? 16 years old taking it to Steve Johnson our NCAA champion , I am not surprised but would like to hear some of the posters on here .

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I don't want to be negative, but, this is a big deal. Our hope, our Californian, the best colligiate player ever got whacked by a junior 6 years younger. :cry: It is a part of the neverending American tennis wake up calls, at least on the men's side.

thanx didnt know but since hes a junior we could use one here too yeah??

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...I was hard on my charge this weekend after a loss. Not my normal M.O. He's 10.

He hit all his performance goals. The character of his tennis was better. I could actually see that he improved over the holidays, but I semi berated him because despite all of this it was time for him to hear that I expected a win, not just improvement. I regretted it later that evening, but this morning I don't. This Johnson loss has informed me greatly.

Maybe Steve Johnson was caught off guard with the heat down under. If anyone has ever been in that part of the world this time of the year, they would know. Maybe it was part of Steve's preparation or lack there of...conditioning, aclimation, etc.

Thanasi has 13 Futures main draw wins and 14 main draw doubles wins. That does not include the wins in the qualifying to get to the main draw. Impressive for a 16 year old. No young American I can think of with that kind of resume. Posters on here need to look into this kid.

IT is rare that a loser in a qualifying tournament is lauded but anyone who witnessed Thanasi Kokkinakis in action at Melbourne Park yesterday will attest he is a rising star of Australian tennis.

The 16-year-old first displayed his outlandish talents when stepping in for the injured John Isner at last week's Hopman Cup in Perth. Although he played only an exhibition match against Fernando Verdasco, the former Australian Open semi-finalist was stunned by the South Australian's power.

"The serve that he has is ... professional, it's like much better than many professionals," Verdasco said.

"He will be like a great player if he can keep going like that. He's so young ... but like I said, he has unbelievable serves for his age and also a very good forehand and backhand."

His qualifying debut at grand slam level yesterday against American Stevie Johnson was entertaining both in scoreline and in the tennis produced.

Johnson is a two-time collegiate champion for the University of Southern California who reached the third round of the US Open in August, further testament to the Australian teenager's ability.

While Kokkinakis fell 6-4 6-7 (5) 17-15, he showed great poise to break Johnson's serve at 5-4 in the third set and then to stave off break point opportunities later in the set before fatiguing late in a match lasting well over three hours. That the Australian was tired is hardly surprising given the third set alone lasted 2hr 7m.

It prompted Darren Cahill, who has coached former world No 1s Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt, to praise Kokkinakis.

"Really impressive young man. Looking forward to watching his progress in the coming years," Cahill tweeted.

My bad on jumping to the conclusion that SJ lost in the match. I just read some of the post and assumed.

Anyway, Australia needs a good up and comer. I just hope that he doesn't have the baggage like Bernard Tomic. Anyone know his disposition/character? I did get to see the exhibition doubles match on the Tennis Channel where he partnered with Venus Williams...seems like a good kid

Martennis....its tennis and its one loss. Who knows the circumstances, the kid could have gotten some lucky net cords on key points, Johnson could have been injured, looked past a 16 year old. Maybe if they played 10 times, Johnson would win the next 9.

Or perhaps the kid is just super talented and is the next big thing. Who knows. Tennis history is full of 1 match anomalies so we have no idea what this means.

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...however it is hard not to be disappointed. Steve was undefeated in college. He is intense all the time. I would like to think there was some hellacious matches during his college career, such that my dissapointment would be justified here.

MY SUPER BAD. STEVIE PULLED IT OUT. A WIN IS A WIN. I DO NOT EXPECT DOMINANCE. GLAD TO BE WRONG ABOUT THE RESULT. GO STEVIE! GO USA!
Definitely will keep eye out on this 16 y.o. though

Steve Johnson hit with our top American juniors recently and one went on the record saying Johnson is at a whole different level. He couldn't believe how much bigger Johnson's forehand was. One of the things to look for is a junior whose talent jumps out at you. At age 16 Ryan Harrison had an ATP top 100 pro level serve. It was incredible to see. Cahill and other have some nice things to say about this young man. We shall see.

are you guys saying S. Johnson lost ? ... I checked the results and SJ won that match .. what are talking about?

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Well this board is win/loss minded and age minded for as long as I have been on here so this win was in most eyes on here a disaster , I thought Thanasi could beat him and was pulling for him myself cause he is a friend of our family but I have always understood development and not playing age but level and thats where the USA is far behind other countries .

We just saw that if you do it right as Thanasi's team has done you dont need to go to college and you can be at the same level as a 2 x NCAA champion !!

Thanasi has 13 Futures main draw wins and 14 main draw doubles wins. That does not include the wins in the qualifying to get to the main draw. Impressive for a 16 year old. No young American I can think of with that kind of resume. Posters on here need to look into this kid.

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Contrary the difference with Thanasi and the USA is that his Fed knew he wanted to go pro and no one pushed college , I have spent time with his family and his coach who came to visit me last year before he was to get married .

See they have helped Thanasi tremendously as to where our program says you need to dominate each age group win every Jr event possible , Thanasi didnt go down that road and was encouraged to play up even though he didnt prove himself as a Jr . Le Petite , OB, Eddie Herr, ect . They get it .

My bad on jumping to the conclusion that SJ lost in the match. I just read some of the post and assumed.

Anyway, Australia needs a good up and comer. I just hope that he doesn't have the baggage like Bernard Tomic. Anyone know his disposition/character? I did get to see the exhibition doubles match on the Tennis Channel where he partnered with Venus Williams...seems like a good kid

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Thanasi is a great kid comes from a great family , his coach Todd is a dictator of sorts but thats why Thanasi is where he is at , Thanasi is very polite and courteous not a Tomic at all .

Martennis....its tennis and its one loss. Who knows the circumstances, the kid could have gotten some lucky net cords on key points, Johnson could have been injured, looked past a 16 year old. Maybe if they played 10 times, Johnson would win the next 9.

Or perhaps the kid is just super talented and is the next big thing. Who knows. Tennis history is full of 1 match anomalies so we have no idea what this means.

This is why I love this board! So the OP started out I suppose to take a shot at college tennis....and instead brought to our attention a super talented 16 year old who causes tennis people to describe as "outlandish talents". A kid with a growing body of impressive work as coaching32years showed.

Then another poster worked his 10 year old student to the bone because of this 'loss' and how it reflected on American tennis.

Then it turns out the lowly American tennis player actually beat the 16 year old superkid. And the fact a 16 year old can show such promise reinforces my long held belief that in most cases the talents jump out by age 16 or so....the exact opposite of what the OP thinks.

Classic junior forum entertainment!

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Well TCF is the kid hitting lucky let cords is Johnson hurt ? Or is this kid the real deal ?

The kid is where he is because of a combination of reasons, including the very important one, his talent level.

His coach has been a 'dictator' to numerous players through the years, how many will reach the same level as this one?

Odds are this kid would have reached tennis heights even if his family was average and not 'good', whether he went to an academy, and whether he played a more traditional route of tournaments. Talent is talent. More than one road that this kid, and other talented kids, can take to do well in tennis.

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sorry thought he did well against Johnson because of a Johnson injury or let cords , just trying to see which thought your using for this kid . Thanx for clarifying

...I was hard on my charge this weekend after a loss. Not my normal M.O. He's 10.

He hit all his performance goals. The character of his tennis was better. I could actually see that he improved over the holidays, but I semi berated him because despite all of this it was time for him to hear that I expected a win, not just improvement. I regretted it later that evening, but this morning I don't. This Johnson loss has informed me greatly.

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Mar sorry about the wording but I would encourage you stay tough on your player and if he loses playing his best and its a serious fight in the match pat him on the back but if he loses because he is not giving it his all , bad attitude , no attempt to make adjustments , going for broke , THEN Punishment is a must , Walking Stairs at a stadium NO running them ! , sit ups till the stomach is burning or tears come forward , figure out a punishment that will build him at the same time break the bad habits .

Contrary the difference with Thanasi and the USA is that his Fed knew he wanted to go pro and no one pushed college , I have spent time with his family and his coach who came to visit me last year before he was to get married .

See they have helped Thanasi tremendously as to where our program says you need to dominate each age group win every Jr event possible , Thanasi didnt go down that road and was encouraged to play up even though he didnt prove himself as a Jr . Le Petite , OB, Eddie Herr, ect . They get it .

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Coach: I agree with you 100%. USTA high performance has been based on results in the 12's and 14's which makes no sense. Their application itself required a high ranking and a finals or win at Super Nationals. The result is we have a lot of undersized, defensive ball loopers we are financing at Boca and Carson who have no shot at the pros.

Coach: I agree with you 100%. USTA high performance has been based on results in the 12's and 14's which makes no sense. Their application itself required a high ranking and a finals or win at Super Nationals. The result is we have a lot of undersized, defensive ball loopers we are financing at Boca and Carson who have no shot at the pros.

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We have been around high performance and they wont even place my player on the court with all the upcoming future players yet we go to IMG and he is splitting sets with Quigley and losing a tight set to Harrison and yet at High performance he ends up on court with 16 yr olds "96's" cause thats his age group and he is one of the top 18 yr olds ,,,

We need some serous changes in our thinking if the USA is gonna stand a chance .

We have been around high performance and they wont even place my player on the court with all the upcoming future players yet we go to IMG and he is splitting sets with Quigley and losing a tight set to Harrison and yet at High performance he ends up on court with 16 yr olds "96's" cause thats his age group and he is one of the top 18 yr olds ,,,

We need some serous changes in our thinking if the USA is gonna stand a chance .

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Wow. USTA HP is worse than even I thought. Your player is a quarterfinalist in the OB 18's!! Sounds like a Rick Macci trick. He wouldn't let my 12 yr old play his top 13 yr old. Rick is a smart businessman- can't have a 12 yr old training 6 hours a week beat his top 13 yr old- who is paying thousands a year for full time training. Maybe USTA didn't want your player to embarass them by beating up on their 18 yr olds. Who knows.

Wow. USTA HP is worse than even I thought. Your player is a quarterfinalist in the OB 18's!! Sounds like a Rick Macci trick. He wouldn't let my 12 yr old play his top 13 yr old. Rick is a smart businessman- can't have a 12 yr old training 6 hours a week beat his top 13 yr old- who is paying thousands a year for full time training. Maybe USTA didn't want your player to embarass them by beating up on their 18 yr olds. Who knows.

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Its ducking pure and simple. Usta to justify paying for training of little pusher kids at 12-14 and at 16, 17, 18 they have the same pusher looper kids. db goes in blasting and they would look bad.

Wow. USTA HP is worse than even I thought. Your player is a quarterfinalist in the OB 18's!! Sounds like a Rick Macci trick. He wouldn't let my 12 yr old play his top 13 yr old. Rick is a smart businessman- can't have a 12 yr old training 6 hours a week beat his top 13 yr old- who is paying thousands a year for full time training. Maybe USTA didn't want your player to embarass them by beating up on their 18 yr olds. Who knows.

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I have wondered and trying to judge their motives without direct evidence is wrong , i just think they have a mold and its what they stick to, the bad part is it penetrates the fabric of the teaching throughout the USA and hurts the players who should be skipping college and going to the pro's but they end up dominating age group after age group and get into a certain mindset where they cant make the move cause they have never tested themselves to see they can do it .

This is the 4th regime and the 14th year of USTA HP. Just imagine the total cost vs the results. Mind boggling.

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it is sad , Is saw JS before he headed down under and was nursing a injured ankle during practise and my wife asked what is he doing on court , he couldn't move , it was hurting and then I see he retired yesterday most likely injured but should have never spent the money on him traveling down there, once again a waiste and how many like that ?

it is sad , Is saw JS before he headed down under and was nursing a injured ankle during practise and my wife asked what is he doing on court , he couldn't move , it was hurting and then I see he retired yesterday most likely injured but should have never spent the money on him traveling down there, once again a waiste and how many like that ?

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so are you saying that USTA is still paying for JS ? even when he is already a ''pro''?

it is sad , Is saw JS before he headed down under and was nursing a injured ankle during practise and my wife asked what is he doing on court , he couldn't move , it was hurting and then I see he retired yesterday most likely injured but should have never spent the money on him traveling down there, once again a waiste and how many like that ?

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JS was not part of PD, he lived at home in Kansas and trained with a private his whole junior career. He has of course received some assistance both before an after turning pro, as has Deit, but he is not a good example of USTA HP wasting money, in fact he is the poster child for why USTA HP PD is an unecessary waste, he's arguably the best American prospect(aside from DB of course ) and PD had almost nothing to do with it.

JS was not part of PD, he lived at home in Kansas and trained with a private his whole junior career. He has of course received some assistance both before an after turning pro, as has Deit, but he is not a good example of USTA HP wasting money, in fact he is the poster child for why USTA HP PD is an unecessary waste, he's arguably the best American prospect(aside from DB of course ) and PD had almost nothing to do with it.

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true that .. most PD kids ended up going to D1 college program .. so everyone doing USTA tournaments are footing the bill for PD to send a few selected kids to play college tennis...
I like to see what kind of degrees and jobs these kids get after their college tennis career is over... I'm betting teaching tennis somewhere...
great system ...

During his TV commentary PMac says that USTA HP is looking for the big athletic kids who may not be the highest ranked. But he does the opposite- takes the highly ranked 12's and 14's regardless of size and athleticism. Of the hundreds of juniors I have seen locally there is 1 that stands out. 6'5" at age 16, very athletic, crushes the ball. Ranked high in section- was impressive in zonals. USTA HP has never called or emailed this kid. I just can't figure USTA out.

Mar sorry about the wording but I would encourage you stay tough on your player and if he loses playing his best and its a serious fight in the match pat him on the back but if he loses because he is not giving it his all , bad attitude , no attempt to make adjustments , going for broke , THEN Punishment is a must , Walking Stairs at a stadium NO running them ! , sit ups till the stomach is burning or tears come forward , figure out a punishment that will build him at the same time break the bad habits .

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...thanks for checking me and for the suggestions. Being functionally and productively tough as a "manager" (not coach, he has some) is a skill also. I'm learning.

I watched the match yesterday and Johnson was lucky he won that match. Johnson had matchpoints in second set up 5-2 and Thanasi ended up winning that set 7-6. Third set went like 30 games. Kid showed that he can be clutch in some very nerve racking situations. Good serve, uses his body well. Very solid backhand. He got injured in the third set and maybe that threw him off. But still Johnson really sucks im comparison to other player's from other countries. He missed an overhead and got so mad he took the other ball out of his pocket and parked it. Also missed a floater about 4 inches from net, like 3 feet about net. Johnson was complaining about calls the entire match it was ridiculous. Kept throwing his racket too. IMO I don't see him being successful in higher level tennis.